


Through the Years

by theonlywons



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slytherin Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28779693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonlywons/pseuds/theonlywons
Summary: A George Weasley x Slytherin reader story.Each chapter shares events in one year of George and reader's life together, starting in their first year of Hogwarts.
Relationships: George Weasley/Reader, George Weasley/You
Kudos: 14





	1. The Journey to Hogwarts

**Author's Note:**

> this fic started out as me thinking of multiple one shot ideas for George, and then i figured out a way to connect them all.

It had been a warm, sunny day when you heard an owl screech outside. You watched from the window as it swooped in by your front door, carrying a small letter in its talons. The brown tawny owl sat on the sidewalk for just a second before it hurried away again. You watched it disappear into the distant blue sky.  
As you walked to the front door you could see that your father was clutching the letter to his chest. It took him a good five minutes of staring at it before he handed it to you. It was your Hogwarts letter. You had been waiting all year to receive it, and your father was overjoyed now that you had.  
You weren’t exactly sure why he was so happy, but you caught him almost sobbing into your mother’s shoulder later that night when they thought you had gone to sleep. You thought for a moment that he was mad about your letter, but after you listened to them speak for a minute you realized that they were happy tears.  
You had grown up around magic your whole life. Your uncle and your grandparents were all brilliant wizards. Your mother was a muggle, sure, but that didn’t make you think that you wouldn’t get into Hogwarts.  
You didn’t show any magical ability until you were almost 10, but that fact never really crossed your mind growing up.  
You had gotten mad at your father one day, for something you couldn’t even remember now, but you were 9, and all that childlike anger boiled up inside you. It burned hotter and hotter until your face was burning red, and then the teacup that your father had on his side table exploded, sending scalding hot liquid onto the carpet and armchair.  
You expected him to be mad with you, furious even, but instead he had calmly asked if you caused that to happen. You said yes and then tried to quickly explain how you didn’t mean it, but you were cut off. You were being enveloped in a crushing hug and your dad picking you up and spinning and laughing. Laughing? Why was he laughing? You had just ruined his favorite teacup and spilled tea all over the floor.  
He set you down and took you by the shoulders. “I’m so proud of you.” You looked over at the mess you created, and he waved it off. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll clean it up. You’ve got magic!”  
He stood up and quickly ran into the next room, searching for your mother. You could hear him laughing down the hallway. “She’s a witch! I can’t believe she’s actually a witch!”  
Just over a year later, when your letter came, he was as overjoyed as he was the day with the tea. The next day you set out to London to buy all of your supplies. Your mother had stayed at home, but you and your father met up with your uncle in Diagon Alley.  
He and your father both worked at the Ministry together. He worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, while your father worked in close contact with the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. He worked mainly in Muggle Studies, helping the Ministry to learn more about the average muggle. You were told once that it was one of the lowest jobs you could get at the Ministry, but your father seemed to enjoy it. It was how he had met your mother after all. You learned then to do your own research on matters, instead of just taking other people’s opinions as your own.  
Once you had gotten all your supplies from Diagon Alley, you separated from your uncle to head back out into London. You were admiring your new wand, and the fine intricacies on it, when your father stopped to say hello to someone.  
The man he stopped was an odd looking fellow, with bright red hair sticking up from the top of his head. His clothed screamed pure-blood wizard to you, as they matched almost perfectly with what your grandparents wore; an old robe and a handmade vest.  
Your father introduced you to the man in front of him as Arthur Weasley, a coworker of his. You waved at him shyly before going back to studying your wand; you wanted to know every fine detail of it. You looked it up and down, from end to tip, ran your fingers over the wood to feel the texture of it. You were about to put it up to your mouth to see what it tasted like when another shock of red hair appeared in your peripheral vision.  
You looked up, tongue hanging slightly out of your mouth, wand inches from it. Two boys had appeared at Arthur’s side. They looked exactly the same and you had to blink a couple times to make sure you weren’t seeing double. Arthur apparently had twin sons. They were both wearing sweaters that looked almost similar to the ones your grandmother made you, but theirs had letters on them in bright gold yarn. An “F” and a “G.”  
“These are my boys, Fred and George,” Arthur introduced them. “Well, two of my boys. The others stayed at home for this trip. The twins are enough to handle by myself.”  
They both turned to look at you. You quickly brought your tongue back into your mouth and dropped your wand to the side. Before they could get a word out to you, their father said goodbye to yours and grabbed them both by their sweaters to push them past you.  
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” your dad called as Arthur walked away. He turned to you. “Those boys are in the same year as you. Maybe you’ll end up in the same house and can become friends.”  
You turned to look at the way they went. You could hardly see through the crowd and were just barely able to spot the redheaded father. Only one of the twins appeared to be with Arthur, and for a second you were concerned that the other had gotten lost in the crowd.  
Suddenly, a face appeared in front of yours. “Fred tied your shoelaces together while you were staring at your wand,” was all he said before he ducked back into the crowd. He headed back towards his father, who was now searching for him, calling out his name. It seemed that George was the nicer of the two twins.  
You looked down at your feet, and sure enough, they were tied together. One step and you would’ve been face first into the cobblestone. Why the one felt it necessary to come all the way back here just to tell you his brother was a bit of a jerk, you weren’t sure, but you appreciated it. Maybe you could be friends with at least George. Fred, you weren’t so sure about.  
You looked up at your father to see if he had anything to say, but he was staring at a map of London he had taken out of his pocket. He hadn’t seemed to notice the boy come back at all.  
\-------------------------  
September 1st, 1989 snuck up on you faster than you had ever expected it. You spent the last few days of your summer holiday with your muggle friends, as you knew you wouldn’t see them again until at least Christmas. It was hard to say goodbye to them, but at the same time you couldn’t be more excited to make friends who were actually magical like you were.  
Your father had an emergency at work, so it was your uncle who took you to King’s Cross that day in London. The station was busy and full of Muggles, but it was easy for him to find the correct platform, as he had been there multiple times before. You stopped for a moment to watch a few families make their way through the wall and onto the platform.  
Still a little bit nervous about using magic to this caliber, you had to be encouraged by your uncle to go through the wall. He took your trolley from you and stood you perfectly center facing the brick.  
“It’s really quite simple,” he said, bending down to your level. He pointed at the stones in front of you. “Just run straight at it. It won’t hurt you. I’ll take care of your luggage.”  
You nodded your head and took in a deep breath. Letting out the breath, you started with a jog, picking up the pace as you neared the wall. Your eyes closed when you were within inches of the wall, preparing for the impact. When no impact came, you opened your eyes to see the steam engine in front of you. Your feet stopped moving immediately. You turned around, a big smile on your face, to see your uncle enter behind you.  
“Welcome to the Hogwarts Express.” He bent down in front of you again to be at your eye level. “Remember, your father is very proud of you. He’s absolutely gutted that he can’t be here, but he wanted me to give you this.”  
He reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a disposable camera. One like what your mother would use when you went on holiday.  
“He wants you to use this to create memories and to remember the important ones. You can get it developed when you come home for Christmas.” You nodded at him in understanding. “Now, most of the pure-blood students probably won’t know what this is, so don’t let them get you down for using Muggle technology.”  
“There’s nothing wrong with Muggle technology,” you told him, matter of factly. “Some of it’s even cooler than magic.”  
He chuckled slightly at that. “I know, I know. But some wizards think everything made by Muggles is rubbish. Just ignore them.”  
“Or I could show them how cool it really is,” you said, reaching out for the camera.  
“Yeah, or you could do that.” He stood up in front of you. “Before I give this to you, I need a picture. Smile.”  
You stood in front of the train engine with the goofiest of grins on your face. Your uncle snapped the picture quickly and then handed you the camera.  
“Remember there’s only 26 pictures left on that,” he quickly informed you. “If you make a friend who has an owl, you can always write your mum to send you another one if you run out.”  
“Will do. Thank you.” You reached towards him and gave him a quick, tight hug. The clock on the wall behind him read 10:55. “I gotta go! Thank you again!”  
You ran off towards the train as he shouted his goodbye back at you.  
\--------------------------  
Finding a compartment to sit in was relatively hard, as they were mostly filled with upperclassmen. Towards the back of the train you eventually found a compartment with two familiar boys in it. They sat on opposite seats near the window, tossing something between the two of them.  
You knocked on the glass as you slid the door open. “Do you mind if I sit here?”  
“You sure about that?” one of them asked. “Percy didn’t warn you about us?”  
“I don’t know who this Percy is,” you told them, stepping into the compartment. “Why would he be warning people about you.” You sat down next to the twin who had on a blue sweater. The other one was wearing brown.  
“Percy’s our older brother. A third year,” Blue Sweater told you.  
“He’s been telling people that we’ll prank them if they share a compartment with us,” Brown Sweater said. They continued to toss the small object between the two of them.  
“Well one of you has already tried to prank me,” you said, looking between the two of them. “But the other one told me about it. So I know I can trust at least one of you.”  
Brown Sweater stopped suddenly, the small object in his hand. “You told her!?” He tossed the object at his brother, who threw his hands over his face in defense. The object bounced off his forearm, and you caught it as it headed your way. It seemed to be just a small rubber ball.  
The one who you now assumed was Fred continued yelling at his brother. “It’s not much of a prank if you tell them about it before it happens! I don’t know how I can even call you my brother anymore.” He folded his arms and pouted as he looked out the window at the passing hills.  
“Fred, stop being so dramatic,” George said. “She was a stranger. And our dads work together.”  
“You’re lying,” Fred said, now looking at George. “You told her because you think she’s cute.”  
Now both you and George froze. You could feel the tips of your ears burning hot. You squeezed the ball tightly in your hand as a sort of distraction from this conversation. George mumbled out some sort of defence, but you didn’t hear it. You were too focused on your hand, which now held some sort of slimy black goo. The ball had dissolved when you squeezed it hard enough.  
“You tricky little gremlins,” you mumbled, caused them to stop their bickering to look at you. “No wonder no one wanted to sit with you.” You stood up, the goo dripped off your hand and onto the carpet. You reached for the door with your good hand.  
“Hey, we didn’t mean to get you with that, we’re sorry,” George said. You could hear the sincerity in his voice.  
“Yeah, you’re the one who caught the ball,” Fred said.  
You turned around and held your black covered hand out towards Fred.  
“Catch this,” you said, pushing your hand quickly into his face. You let out a wave of laughter as you pulled your hand away and looked at Fred’s face. The goo had gotten into his hair and matted his eyebrows and smeared down the side of his face. George let out a snort as he got a look at his brother.  
“Good one,” he said, holding up his hand for a high five.  
You grinned as you slapped your hand against his, sending goo spraying against the train window. “Didn’t think that one through, did you.”  
“No, no I didn't,” George said, wiping his hand on the seat he was sitting on. You both looked over at Fred, who was still trying to get the goo off of his face, also wiping the contents on his seat.  
“You okay there, Freddie?” George asked his brother.  
Fred looked up at him and then over at you. “Yeah, just thinking of a way to get even is all.”  
“Good luck with that,” you said, reaching for your camera. The twins looked at you curiously. You snapped a picture of Fred’s face, still covered in goo.  
“What’re you doing?” Fred asked.  
“Blackmail,” you simply explained, stuffing the camera back in your bag.  
\----------------------  
“Five other siblings?!” you questioned, quite exhausted from the thought of that large a family. “I couldn’t even imagine.”  
“Yes, unfortunately,” Fred said. “You’re sure to meet Percy and Charlie soon. They’re third and sixth years. Both Gryffindors. Our whole family has been Gryffindors, actually.”  
“I suppose that means you two are hoping to get the same,” you mused at them.  
They both laughed.  
“Not so much as hoping,” George said. “We’re more expecting. Family tradition and all.”  
“But it’s gonna be awfully dreadful if we get stuck in the same house as Percy for five years,” Fred added. You laughed at that. The twins really had an odd way of viewing their brother.  
“What about you?” George asked, lightly elbowing you in the arm.  
“Hhmmm? What about me?” you asked, looking up at him.  
“Siblings? Family house traditions?” George pressed further.  
“Oh no. None of that. I’m an only child,” you told them. “Grandparents were both Hufflepuffs and my uncle was a Ravenclaw.”  
“And your parents?” Fred asked.  
“My mother is actually a Muggle,” you informed them. “And my dad didn’t go to Hogwarts.” They both seemed taken aback by that statement.  
“Didn’t go to Hogwarts?” George asked.  
“Did his parents ship him off to a different country?” Fred added.  
“No,” you simply stated. “He went to a Muggle school. He doesn’t have magic.”  
“No way!” they both said, basically shouting at you. You were slightly shocked by their sudden change in attitude.  
“Your dad is a squib?” Fred questioned you.  
You looked between the two of them, severely confused at this point. “I’ve never heard that word before.”  
“A squib is a person who doesn’t have magical powers, but their parents do. Basically the opposite of a Muggle-born wizard,” Fred explained to you.  
“They’re very rare,” George continued. “The caretaker at Hogwarts is actually a squib. He’s the only we’ve ever heard of before.”  
You thought over this new information for a moment. “I guess it’s true that he was born to a pure-blood family, but I always thought it was normal for some wizards’ children to not have magic. Just like, as you said, some Muggle’s randomly have children with magic.”  
“That logic does make sense when you look at it that way,” George said.  
It was silent for a moment before Fred asked another question. “How did your dad get a job at the Ministry if he doesn’t have magic?”  
“Working in muggle studies, you don’t need much magic,” you explained to them. “Plus my uncle also works for the Ministry, and he put in a good word for him.”  
You sat in silence for another couple minutes. You weren’t quite sure what to say anymore after that conversation. It was getting late and you were to be at Hogwarts within the hour.  
“Hey,” George said next to you.  
“Yeah?” you asked him.  
“If I were you, I’d be careful with who you share that information about your father with,” he said.  
“Because some pure-bloods think everything made by Muggles is rubbish?” you asked, finishing his thoughts for him.  
“Well I wouldn’t put it that way,” he said. He mulled over his thoughts for a second. When he spoke again, it was soft, like he didn’t really want to say what he was saying. “But yeah. Some pure-bloods think they’re above everyone who is of mixed blood or Muggle-born. With your blood status, I don’t even know what they’d think.”  
“What about your family?” you asked, looking between the two of them. Suddenly you were very worried that you were telling your whole life story to two boys who were basically strangers.  
“What?” Fred asked.  
“You’re pure-bloods,” you said to them. “But your dad reminded me very much of my pure-blood grandparents. And my grandparents would never think like that.”  
“Neither would we,” Fred said, his brown eyes lacking any hint of mischievousness for the first time since you met him.  
“Our family doesn’t have much,” George said, “so we know what it’s like to be looked down on by other pure-bloods.”  
You let out a sigh and looked out the window at the darkening sky. The stars would be out soon, and they were sure to look pretty glittering over the lake by the castle.  
“I’m sorry that I accused you of that,” you said, tearing your eyes away from the window to look first at George, who quickly darted his eyes away from yours, then at Fred, who held your eye contact.  
“No worries,” Fred replied.  
“How about I make it up to you by showing you this,” you said, rummaging around in your bag. You pulled out the camera. “This is a disposable camera. It just takes pictures. Not any of the magical moving pictures, but pictures nonetheless. My dad wanted me to have it to capture memories.”  
“What kind of memories?” George asked, looking at you again.  
“Happy ones, I suppose,” you told them. “But also sad ones. One’s that make me feel like I want to remember the moment, no matter what. And you know what? I’d like to remember my first train ride forever. Would you two mind taking a picture with me?”  
The twins looked at each other and then back to you. “I don’t see why not,” they both said.  
You looked out into the corridor of the train and spotted a student who looked to be a year or two older than you. You got her to take a picture for you and thanked her as she walked away.  
“Do we get to see the picture?” George asked expectantly.  
“Not until I get them developed over Christmas holiday,” you informed them.  
“That’s months away!” they both exclaimed, falling back into their seats.  
Even though you had been apprehensive of Fred to begin with, you were quickly growing to like both of the twins. Looking over at Fred, he still had bits of black goo stuck in his hair. You were sure it would take a couple showers to fully wash out. Sitting back down next to George, you sat a little too close to him, your shoulders brushing as you tried to get comfortable. Quickly, you moved a couple more inches away, having remembered the comment Fred had made earlier. You could feel your ears burning hot again, and glancing at George out of the corner of your eye, you were positive that his ears were red too.  
\------------------------  
The twins were right about their family tradition, as the sorting hat was barely on their heads before it sorted them both into Gryffindor. An older redheaded boy was cheering excitedly as they sat down at the table next to him and another redhead.  
As you walked up to stand in front of everyone to be sorted, you could feel your heart racing. You weren’t nervous; it didn’t matter where you were sorted, as you had no ill feelings towards any house. The scary part was the uncertainty of the future that awaited you. If you got sorted into Gryffindor, you were sure to remain friends with the twins. If it was any other house, you weren’t sure. The thought of maybe losing the first two friends you had made here was what scared you the most.  
You cautiously sat down on the stool, your eyes turning to the sea of students in front of you. You found Fred and George in the crowd, and they both gave you thumbs ups. Smiling back at them, you let out a deep breath. The hat was placed on your head, and you could hear it contemplating for a few seconds.  
“I know exactly where you should go,” it said.  
“Already?” you asked, looking up at the brim.  
“Yes, I’m quite certain,” it said. You sat in silence for another few seconds before it shouted out “Slytherin!”


	2. Snakes and Lions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year 2. You get tired of certain people bullying your friends, so you decided to retaliate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning for snakes and mentions of bullying

Sixth years were mean, especially sixth year Slytherins who thought they were above everyone else because they came from a rich family. Because of the knowledge about squibs you had learned from the twins, and seeing how everyone treated Filch, you decided it was best to keep your family history as vague as possible. That didn’t sit well with some of the upperclassmen.  
They would constantly pester you to learn more about your family. By the time you got to the end of first year, you had let it slip that your father worked in Muggle Studies at the Ministry. You were hoping this would stop some of the pestering, but it only made the pure-bloods laugh more.  
The constant goading at your family was easy to deal with compared to the insults thrown at you just because of who you were friends with. Even with the Weasleys being pure-bloods, the Slytherins all seemed to hate them. They tended to stay away from insulting Charlie, as his prefect status seemed to deter them, but Percy made it so easy for them to mock him.  
Percy Weasley wasn’t a close friend, per se, and the twins had interesting things to say about him, but over the last year at Hogwarts you had grown to kind of like him. Sure, he was a little stuck up and had a tendency to make a fool of himself, but that gave you all the more reason to stand up for him.  
The twins were a whole different story. The insults thrown at them were about how loud and obnoxious and disrespectful to authority they were; insults about how their family was a disgrace to the pure-blood status.  
"And really, I don't get it." You were close enough friends with the twins that nearly every annoying thing your housemates said got relayed back to them. "You're not obnoxious, you're hilarious. You're not disrespectful, you're fun. Even if laughing at your pranks gets house points taken away from.. well, both of our houses." You had a free period today, so the courtyard was empty besides the three of you, and you felt free to speak openly.  
"I didn't know it bothered you so much," George's facial features were never as easy to read as Fred's. His tone was light, but his eyes were soft.  
"Doesn't bother us one bit," Fred piped up, shrugging.  
"It doesn't," you lied. "I just wish they'd shut up"  
“Well then let’s make them shut up,” Fred said, leaning closer to you, a familiar gleam in his eye.  
“Pull a prank on sixth year Slytherins?” you turned to look at him, a smile on your face. “I like where your head’s at, Freddie. What’s the plan?”  
“Filibuster fireworks in their food?” he suggested.  
“Didn’t that get you in trouble with a girl last year?” you asked, eyeing him. He turned his head away quickly, but you could still see the shy smile on his face; something you didn’t see often from Fred Weasley. “Besides, it’s really only one girl. If we shut her up, then her entire posse will shut up.”  
“Fanged frisbee right at the face,” George said with a laugh.  
“I like it, I like it a lot,” you agreed, “but, knowing Snape, he’ll put us all in detention for months for that one. If I miss one more quidditch practice because of detention, I’m gonna be kicked off the team.”  
“You got any good ideas then?” George asked.  
“Something a little more subtle,” you said, standing up so you could pace. The twins watched you walk back and forth, their heads following along with your body. An idea popped into your head, and you stopped suddenly in your tracks. A grin appeared on your face as you looked up at the twins. “Come on, we need to go to Hagrid’s”  
You took off towards Hagrid’s, hurrying out of the courtyard and down the hill. You could hear the twins behind you, shouting questions and trying to get you to slow down. You kept up your fast pace until you were at the base of the hill. Hagrid didn’t seem to be home, considering there was no smoke coming from his chimney, so you headed straight for his garden.  
“What’re we doing down here?” George asked as he stepped over a cabbage.  
“Is she allergic to vegetables or something?” Fred questioned.  
Ignoring them, you continued to search the dirt for what you were looking for. Moving pumpkins around, you looked for any sort of movement underneath them.  
“Worms in her shoes?” Fred inquired.  
You paused your search, looking up at him to give a small nod. “You’re getting close with that guess.” The twins looked between each other, confused. What on Earth could you be searching for in this garden? You continued your search while you talked to them. “I need something ordinary and non-magical. Something I can easily play off as an accident or coincident. Think Slytherin. Think phobias. What’s the stupidest thing a Slytherin could be deathly afraid of?”  
“Snakes?” they both asked at the same time.  
You looked at them with a smile. “Bingo, boys. Now help me look.”  
They both bent closer to the ground, looking for the small creature. It was only a second before George became curious about the plan again.  
“How do you know she doesn’t like snakes?” he asked.  
“She complains about it all the time,” you said, rolling your eyes. “Every day in the common room it’s ‘Why couldn’t we have a different animal? Snakes are just so gross and slimy.’ I don’t think she’s ever even seen a snake in real life. Most are harmless and absolutely not slimy. --Oh! Shut up, I found one.”  
“We weren’t talking,” George said, but you just stuck your tongue out at him and bent down to get a closer look at the animal.  
A small black creature wiggled in the dirt before you. It was a harmless garden snake, but you still slowly lowered your wand in front of it so it wouldn’t spook. It slithered over your wand, and you lifted it up slowly to show the boys.  
“Look at him!” you said excitedly. “He’ll be perfect.” You stuck him in the largest pocket on your robe and started back for the castle. The twins followed closely to you this time.  
“Are you sure you don’t want any magic involved?” George asked.  
“We could make him twice as big or give him a rattle to scare her more,” Fred suggested.  
“No,” you stated bluntly. “The more you add, the more likely I am to get detention. And don’t-” You smacked George’s hand away with your wand as he was reaching for the snake in your pocket. “-try to be sneaky about it and charm or transfigure it while I’m not looking.”  
“Sorry,” George mumbled as he rubbed his sore hand.  
As you got back to the courtyard, you turned to look at your friends. “Listen, I appreciate your pranks, but I’m doing this one by myself.”  
They started to protest before you cut them off.  
“You’re not allowed in the Slytherin common room or dorms,” you reminded them.  
“We let you in the Gryffindor common room just last week!” Fred protested.  
“Shut up,” you whispered, smacking him on the arm. You looked around quickly to confirm that the courtyard was still clear. “You know the teachers would never actually allow that. If they found out, especially McGonagall or Snape, I’d never be allowed near you again.”  
“So you like being near us,” George said with a grin.  
You noticed that he didn’t phrase it as a question, but you were too distracted by how cute his smile was to acknowledge that.  
“No,” you lied, hoping the walk up the hill would hide how distracted you felt. “But I like hanging out with Lee and Angelina. Plus, I like the chairs in your common room more than mine. But if Percy knew you told me your password, he would surely kill all three of us.”  
“Percy has no power over us,” Fred stated.  
“He will when he makes prefect next year,” you said. “And don’t even argue about that. We all know he’s gonna be a prefect.”  
“Pompous little Percy,” George mocked.  
“You should be nicer to your brother,” you said, smacking George this time.  
“Quit hitting us,” they said in unison as they both rubbed their arms.  
“Quit being annoying and I’ll think about it,” you said. You looked down at your pocket to see the snake looking up at you, its tongue flicking out. “Just make it through tonight, little buddy. I’ll bring you back to your garden first thing tomorrow.”  
“She’s nicer to a snake she just met than she is to us,” Fred whispered to his brother, but he wasn’t quite quiet enough.  
You shot him a quick glare before turning to head to your dorm. “I’ll let you know how it goes in the morning.”  
\-------------------  
It was really quite easy to sneak into the sixth years dorm room, as they were all still in class; your free period being your savior at this moment. You carefully tucked the snake under the girl’s blanket, promising that you’d be back to save it later that night. Hurrying off to your last class of the day, you were overjoyed thinking about the events that were to unfold in a few hours.  
You avoided the twins at dinner, wanting to make them even more eager about the situation. Sure, you were doing this mostly for them, but it still felt nice to be able to perform a fully fledged out prank by yourself. The twins may be known for their pranks, but they sure weren’t the only ones who could have fun.  
You focused most of your attention at dinner on Adrian Pucey, who was one of your only true Slytherin friends. He seemed to be the only other Slytherin quidditch player who believed in a fair match, and you liked him for that.  
Walking back to the common room with Adrian after dinner, you ran into the very girl who was annoying you to no end lately.  
“I see you’ve finally ditched those no good Weasleys,” she said as she pushed past you, her group of friends knocking you into Adrian as they followed. “Maybe you’ll actually grow to be a real Slytherin one day.”  
You apologized to Adrian as he helped you right yourself.  
“She’s a bit of a...” Adrian paused to think of the right words, but you were happy to fill it in.  
“Incessant little bi-”  
“Hey, no,” Adrian cut you off. “I was gonna say pain or annoyance. But I do kinda like where you were going.”  
“You should’ve let me finish my sentence then,” you said with a smirk. “That little ‘annoyance’ is about to get what’s coming to her, anyway. Come on, I don’t want to miss it.”  
You hurried off down the corridor, Adrian following next to you.  
“What do you mean by that?” he asked.  
“Oh you’ll see,” you said as you got to the Slytherin common room. “Pick a chair, settle in, and wait for it.”  
You picked a couch to sit on and busied yourself with pretending to do homework as you waited for the sixth year girl to go up to her dormitory. Adrian tried a few times to get you to explain what you were talking about, but you refused. After a few minutes he gave up and did his own school work.  
Less than 30 minutes later and there was a loud scream coming from the girls dorms. Adrien looked at you as you and the rest of the girls in the common room headed towards the scream.  
“What did you do?” he asked as you rushed past him.  
“Nothing,” you said, but the grin on your face told him a whole different story.  
The hallway was crowded and it took a bit of effort to push through the group to get to the front. When your vision cleared of the bodies of students, your eyes found the girl’s bed. The blankets were now a mess and you could see the small body of the snake tucked under the pillow. The girl herself was clinging to the four-poster two beds down.  
“Get that thing out of my bed this instant!” she screamed, her eyes searching over her group of friends. None of them moved.  
You separated from the crowd, walking closer to the bed. You pulled out your wand again, acting just like you had when you first found the snake that afternoon. It slithered over your wand. Picking it up, it hung gently from the wood, its head lifted towards you.  
“It’s just a small snake,” you said, looking over at the girl again. “We’re literally the house of the serpent. Plus, he’s harmless.” You let the snake crawl onto your hand to show the crowd that it was perfectly fine.  
The girl got down from the bed and started making her way over to you. “You foul little creature. You put that thing in my bed.”  
“I did no such thing,” you said, feigning the most innocent face you could muster. She took another step closer to you, but as you held the snake up she recoiled back.  
“What’s going on here?” A male voice could be heard from the hallway. A second later Snape appeared in the doorway. He looked between you and the sixth year as he stepped into the dorm room.  
“Nothing Professor,” you said, now petting the snake's head with your finger.  
“Nothing?” the sixth year asked, exasperated. “Professor, she put a live snake in my bed.”  
“For one: no I didn’t,” you started. You could see Snape was getting more annoyed with every passing second. “Two: it’s harmless. It couldn’t hurt you if it tried. Three: we live in an old castle. There’s bound to be little creatures everywhere.”  
The girl was about to protest again, but Snape seemed to have had enough. “Just get the snake out of here and go back to your own dorm room.” He looked at you with contempt.  
“Would you like to take him, Professor?” you asked, holding the snake up towards his face. He recoiled a bit at the proximity of the creature to his face. You had to try very hard to stifle a laugh.  
“No,” he said and walked out, back through the crowd of students. The students started to disperse now, sensing the fun to be over. You waited until most of them had left to turn back to your upperclassman.  
She started to speak before you could. “I know you did this, you evil-”  
“You’re right,” you cut her off. “I did do it. Maybe don’t talk so openly about your fears next time.” She went to speak again, but you stopped her by holding your wand up towards her.  
“Now, know this: if you ever talk badly about the Weasleys in my presence I won’t be afraid to hex you. That includes Percy and Charlie. And honestly, I don’t care if I get expelled for it either.”  
She tried to hide the step back she took by saying “ I will never be afraid of you.”  
“Sure,” you said, finally dropping the snake in your pocket and heading back to the common room. Adrian was waiting for you.  
“What did you do?” he whispered as you both walked back to sit on the couch.  
You ignored him for a bit, instead searching the room. You found a basket that was full of old books and emptied it. Sitting on the couch, you put the basket on the floor between your legs.  
“I didn’t do anything,” you said, taking the snake out of your pocket again. “He did.” You smiled at the small creature as you set him in the bottom of the basket.  
“You scared that girl with a snake?” Adrian whispered.  
You shrugged and whispered back. “All I did was put a harmless little creature in someone’s bed. Not my fault that she was afraid of him.”  
Adrian sat back into the couch with a short laugh. “What’re you gonna do with it now?”  
“I’ll bring it back to the garden I found it in in the morning.”  
“You really are quite smart with your pranks and sabotage,” he said, looking from you to the basket.  
You turned to look at him, the widest smile on your face. “Thank you.”  
\------------------  
The next morning you were going to skip breakfast and head right down to Hagrid’s garden, but you spotted George and Fred in the Great Hall. A mischievous idea formed in your brain and there was no way you could ignore it. The twins were sitting opposite each other, so George was bound to notice your presence as you snuck down the rows of tables behind Fred. Right when his eyes landed on you, you made sure to put your finger up to your lips, telling him to be quiet.  
You were right behind Fred, George pretending to ignore that you were there. You slipped the snake quietly out of your pocket and gently set it’s head on Fred’s shoulder. It slowly crawled further on until you were able to let go. It was hard to stifle your laughter as Fred reached up to itch his shoulder. When his hand touched the body of the snake, his head whipped around and he let out a scream that caught the attention of the many students around him. You reached out quickly to grab the snake before he could hurt it.  
“That was finally payback for the shoelace incident in Diagon Alley,” you said as you sat down next to him.  
“That’s not fair!” Fred protested. “George told you about that, so it didn’t even work. Some brother he is. I know he saw you behind me.”  
“Yes, but he likes me more than he likes you,” you said, giving George a wink.  
“I’m his brother!” Fred continued to argue.  
You shrugged your shoulders as you grabbed a piece of toast from his plate. You looked across the table at his brother. “Georgie.”  
“Hhmm?” George said through a mouthful of food.  
“Would you care to accompany your favorite person down to Hagrid’s garden?” you asked him. “I’ll tell you all about how Fred’s scared face looked even funnier than the girl’s last night.”  
“I would love to,” he said with a laugh and stood up. Fred grumbled in disagreement as you walked away.  
You both made your way out of the Great Hall. You heard your name being called as you neared the front doors of the castle and turned to look for the speaker. You could see Adrian walking towards you. As he got closer to you he looked at the creature that you were carrying in your hand.  
“I see you haven’t brought him back home yet,” Adrian said, petting the snake’s head.  
“George and I were just about to,” you informed him. You looked between George and Adrian. George was staring at Adrian, while Adrian had most of his attention set to the snake. “Have you two met?”  
“No,” George said shortly.  
“Oh,” you said, looking at George, confused in his sudden change in attitude. “George Weasley, Adrian Pucey. Adrian, George.”  
Adrian turned from the snake and stuck his hand out towards George. “We were bound to meet eventually. You’re on the Gryffindor quidditch team right?”  
George shook Adrian’s hand, but it was a short and sharp shake. “Yes, me and my brother are beaters.”  
“Adrian’s one of the best chasers that Slytherin’s seen in a long time,” you informed George.  
“Maybe, but I’m sure Gryffindor’s are better,” George said with a sour laugh.  
“Okay,” you said, a little awkward now. “Well, we better get going, Adrian. I’ll see you in class.” You grabbed George’s arm and shoved him out the front door. You waited until you were down the front steps before you finally decided to speak to him again.  
“What the hell was that, George?” You stopped walking in front of him and turned to be face to face.  
“What was what?” he feigned ignorance, but refused to look you in the eye.  
“That little attitude you had back there,” you told him. “I would prefer it if you could get along with Adrian. He’s honestly my only housemate that I like.”  
George let out a sigh at that, and you could see his body relax. He knew how you felt about your housemates, about how they were one of the few things that made you unsure of yourself at times.  
“Okay, maybe I got a little mad that you told Adrian about your plan before you told me,” George admitted.  
You let out a laugh. “George!”  
“What?” He snapped his head to look at you.  
“He was in the common room when it happened. I really had no choice but to tell him. I wasn’t gonna lie to my friend.” You grabbed George’s hand and held up the snake as close to his face as you dared. “Now will you apologize to this poor creature before you hurt it’s feelings even more?”  
He looked at the snake for half a second before he said, “Fine.” He turned to look at you. “I’m sorry that I acted like a jerk. I will not be apologizing to an animal though.”  
You laughed again and held tighter onto his hand. You turned to start down the hill again. “Now I’ll tell you all about last night, Georgie.”


	3. Redheads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year 3. George and Fred are at the start of their inventing career. You meet a new friend.

The snow fell heavily as you looked out the shop window, and it occurred to you that they would be rounding up all the students soon. They would want you to get back to the castle before the weather got too out of hand. Looking around Zonko’s one more time, you left the shop with the items you had bought and started to look for the twins. Honestly, you were surprised that they hadn’t immediately beelined it to the joke shop, but maybe they were off thinking about their own little inventions.

Fred had started to dabble in making potions he shouldn’t be messing with, and George was happy to learn right along with him, no matter how disastrous things could turn out. A couple weeks ago at breakfast you were sitting at the Slytherin table, having an idle conversation with Adrian Pucey about the latest quidditch match, when Lee Jordan walked in, the whole of Gryffindor turning their heads to look at him. 

Adrian leaned across the table to whisper to you. “I heard the entire Gryffindor tower woke up in the middle of the night last night because there was an explosion in the third year boys’ dorm.”

Your head went into your hands, and you let out a small grumble. “It was the Weasleys, wasn’t it?” 

“From what I heard, yes,” Adrien said to you, your forehead now resting on the table as you stared down at your lap. “They’ve been getting in a lot of trouble recently.” 

You slowly raised your head to look over to where Lee was now sitting at the Gryffindor table, the twins nowhere in sight. “They’ve been on a prank kick lately. Excuse me; I may need to make sure they aren't dead.” 

You got up from your seat and made your way over to Lee, who you noticed had lost a few inches of his hair overnight. “Hey, Jordan!” He turned to look at you. “Have a rough night?” 

He let out a laugh and said “No, I just woke up with my hair on fire is all. You can thank your boyfriends for that.” 

Ignoring his comment, you pressed him further. “What’d they do this time?” 

“I’m not sure exactly, but it involved standing over my bed in a very creepy fashion. And a loud explosion. And then fire. And then going to the infirmary,” Lee explained. 

“They’re still there?” you asked him. He nodded. “And I’m assuming it’s not too bad since no one seems to be in a huge panic.” 

“Just a couple burns that’ll take a day to heal fully,” he said. 

“Thanks, Lee,” you said, starting out of the great hall towards the infirmary. 

You entered the infirmary, your eyes finding Fred and George. They seemed to be the only ones in the room, sitting upright in parallel beds as they enjoyed a meal that must have been brought to them. They looked relatively normal besides the fact that Fred was missing half of his right eyebrow, a faint red burn mark making its way from just beside his right eye up into his hairline. George looked perfectly fine. and You thought maybe he had made it out of this incident unscathed, and he was just giving Fred company in the hospital wing. 

He must have caught a glimpse of you out of the corner of his eye, because he suddenly stopped his conversation with Fred and waved his hand at you, telling you to come join them. That’s when you saw the bandage on his left hand, wrapped around his palm and halfway up his arm. 

“I saw Lee Jordan a few minutes ago. What antics did you two get up to last night?” you asked the both of them, sitting on the edge of George’s bed. You reached over to his plate and attempted to sneak some food off it, but he smacked your hand away before you could.

“Hey!” George gave you a glare, pulling his plate farther from you. “We’re the injured ones here. Get your own breakfast.” 

“You wouldn’t be injured if you didn’t try ridiculous stunts at two in the morning,” you informed them, looking between George’s hand and Fred’s face. “Now seriously, what were you trying to do to poor Lee?” 

“We were only testing out a potion,” Fred started to explain. “We thought we had it correct.”

“Well, unless it’s a potion that causes explosions, I would say you’re very far from perfecting it,” you said, laughing at them. 

“It was meant to change the color of his hair,” George told you, now offering some of the food on his plate. You gladly accepted it. 

Fred continued on explaining. “We wanna make something that has a permanent effect, unless magically reversed.” 

“We know Zonko’s has a product that’ll change your hair color, but it’s only for a matter of minutes,” George told you. “We’d like to go for a more dramatic effect than that.” 

While the twins were talking, you absentmindedly studied the bandages around George’s palm and wrist. They were fresh, having been changed recently. You wondered what his injury looked like underneath. You feared it was worse than Fred’s, seeing as his warranted no bandages. You knew that by now, Madam Pomfrey had healed them as best she could, and they would be perfectly fine by this time tomorrow, but you still worried. 

“Try boxed hair dye next time.” you stated absentmindedly, your hand moving closer to George's on it's own accord. 

“What?” they both asked at the same time, looking at you in confusion. You snapped out of your thoughts, moving your hand back to your side.

“You’ll have to be sneakier about it, and it’ll take longer and be 100% harder than using magical means, but it works,” you said, continuing your speech without really giving them an explanation. “You could put it in someone’s shampoo. Now, that’d be funny. Imagine Malfoy coming out of the shower with bright pink hair.” You let out a loud laugh, mostly to yourself, as Fred and George still had no clue what you were going on about. 

“Would you like to explain ‘boxed hair dye’ a little further?” Fred asked you. 

You looked between them, confused. A circuit in your brain connected after a few seconds. “Right, right, right. Muggle stuff. It’s literally just a dye that you put in your hair to change the color. Comes in a little box with instructions. Some of it stains your hair, and some of it washes out after a couple showers, so you’ll definitely want one that’s known to stain.” 

“Could you get us some?” they both asked. 

“I could ask my parents to mail me some, maybe.” You pondered this thought for a moment. “I think I have a better idea though. I’ll get back to you on that thought in a few weeks. I should get going, classes start soon.” 

You got up to leave, but turned around quickly. Glancing between their injuries real quick, you settled your eyes on George’s hand. “Please no more injuries. You worry me.” You turned back and hurried out the door, hoping not to be late to your morning class. 

“She was looking at you when she said that, George,” Fred teased his brother with a wink. 

George half heartedly threw a pillow at his brother. “She was talking to both of us.” 

“But she was looking at you,” Fred said, picking up the pillow and throwing it back.  
——————  
Now, stepping outside Zonko’s, the wind was harsh, so you wrapped your scarf tighter around your face. You wanted to make a quick stop at Honeydukes before heading back to the castle. From down the street, you spotted Fred and George leaving the sweets shop. They started to walk in your direction, and you were about to scoot past them when they grabbed onto both of your arms and pulled you to the side. 

“What’re you two doing?!” you scolded them as they dragged you into an alley. “I wanna go to Honeydukes real quick.” 

“No need for that,” Fred said as he let go of your arm. 

George pulled a small brown bag out of his coat pocket. He held it out towards you. “We bought you your favorites.”

You took the bag apprehensively and looked inside. Everything seemed to be fine with the sweets inside. You looked between the two of them. “Why?”

The twins spoke at the same time, but completely different sentences this time. 

“Because we’re such good friends,” is what George said.

“Think of it as a sort of bribe,” is what Fred said. 

You narrowed your eyes at George, staring at him as you asked, “What sort of bribe?” You turned your head towards Fred for an answer.

“It’s been weeks since you said you had an idea for our hair color predicament, and we haven’t heard a thing about it,” Fred explained to you. 

You rolled your eyes at them. “Be patient, boys.” You pulled the bag from Zonko’s out of your pocket and took a small vile out of it. Opening the vile, you drank it and watched the twins as your hair slowly turned to a bright ruby red color. “Now we’re all red heads, huh.”

They both let out a small laugh, and Fred said, “We told you we already know about Zonkos, but we want something more permanent.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time,” You said, handing the rest of the bag over to George. “There’s five more bottles in there. Use them to deconstruct the formula. You don’t always have to start from scratch, you know. You’re both smart enough to find a way to make that permanent.” 

As soon as the last word was out of your mouth, Fred scooped you up into a tight hug, lifting your feet off the ground. “You’re smarter than the both of us combined. I can’t believe that we didn’t think about that. Why work harder when you can use other peoples’ successes to further your own?” 

“If that’s what you want to take from that, then sure.” You laughed as Fred sat you back on the ground. You looked around Fred’s shoulder at George, who was examining one of the viles. “Think you can figure it out, Georgie?” 

He looked up at you smiling, partly because he liked it when you called him that, and partly because this idea was absolutely brilliant. “Definitely.” 

“Good. Now we should get going before we get caught in a blizzard,” you said, looking up at the sky. The snow fell heavily, easy to see against the dark backdrop of the buildings you were standing between.

You reached and grabbed Fred’s hand, ready to pull him with you through the crowd. You stepped close to George to grab his hand too, but you stopped short when you remembered that hand was the one that had been burned. It had been weeks ago, and you knew it was completely healed by now. There wasn’t even a scar; it was like it had never even happened. Still, you were worried that you might hurt him if you grabbed it too hard. It was an irrational fear, but you couldn’t help it. You quickly grabbed his other hand, hoping he hadn’t noticed your hesitation. 

You pulled them both behind you, and you were just about to step out of the alley when you stopped suddenly, the twins almost running into you. You could see little footprints in the snow. Pawprints, leading to a small crate at the edge of the alleyway. Following the small prints, you could see the tip of an orange tail sticking out of the crate. 

You let go of the twins hands, and slowly walked over to the crate, careful not to startle the creature. The twins looked between each other, confused, but they quietly walked up behind you anyway. 

Making little clicking sounds with your tongue, you urged the creature to look at you. It’s tail disappeared fully into the crate, and you were disappointed for a moment before you saw two orange ears pop up, and then you could see the creature's whole face. It seemed to be just a common house cat. 

You bent down to be eye-level with the cat, pulling the twins down with you, hoping not to scare it away. You slowly raised your hand up, leveling it a few inches from it’s face. 

“Come here, sweetie,” you urged it. “What’re you doing out in the cold all by yourself.” 

It stretched it’s neck out to sniff your hand carefully. After a moment, you felt comfortable enough to try to scratch behind it’s ear. It let you, and you slowly let out the breath you were holding. Fred and George hadn’t moved at all behind you, and you were thankful for their stillness. The cat hopped out of the crate and made it’s way to rub against your leg. 

“Aren’t you the sweetest thing,” you said down to it. The cat moved from you and rubbed it’s head on the top of George’s shoe. You smiled softly at the two of them. “I think it likes you, George.”

He just smiled back at you as he scratched the stop of the cat’s head.

“I think we should take it back to the castle,” you said suddenly.

“What?” Fred asked you. “This could be somebody in town’s pet.”

“Look at it,” you said, gesturing vaguely to the animal. “It’s very skinny, it doesn’t have a collar. I say it’s a stray. What do you think, George?”

“Hmmm?” George looked up at you from the cat. “Why does my opinion matter?”

“You’re the tiebreaker,” you told him. 

He thought about it for a minute. “Mum doesn’t really like cats.”

You frowned at him. “Well, it wouldn’t be your cat. It’d be our cat. And I’d be more than willing to bring it home with me on holidays.” 

George was still bent down, and the cat now had both of it’s front legs on top of one of his knees. “Then I say go for it. It is pretty cute.” 

You let out a laugh of pure happiness. You bent down fast, careful not to scare the cat away. Hugging George from the side, you squeezed him as tight as you could, almost losing your balance. George felt you both falling and put one hand on the ground fast enough to catch you. 

“I could kiss you right now, George Weasley. I’m so happy.” You looked from him to the cat in front of the two of you. You watched it as it scratched it’s ear with it’s back leg. You didn’t even notice George freeze completely solid underneath your arms as you said those words. You did kiss him. Quickly on his cheek. He barely even noticed it, but afterwards his entire face lit up almost as bright as your current hair color. As you let go of the hug, George did fully lose his balance, falling completely into the snow. 

You unwrapped your green and grey scarf from around your neck and slowly approached the cat with it. You were careful when you picked it up, examining it quickly before you brought it close to your chest. You wrapped it loosely in your scarf, hoping to keep it warm. You knew that as soon as you left this alley, the wind would be much worse 

“It’s a girl,” you told Fred and George as you turned back to them. Fred was currently in the process of helping his brother off the ground. “I think we should name her Minnie.” 

“Minnie?” George asked as he wiped some snow off his legs. 

“After McGonagall,” you explained to them. They both laughed at that and agreed. Minnie it was. You quickly handed her to Fred and brought a disposable camera out of your coat pocket. “I wanna remember this moment exactly.” 

The twins huddled together as you stood in front of them, and Fred held Minnie to the side of you. You took a quick picture, hoping it would look good when you got it developed over the holiday. You slipped the camera back in your pocket and grabbed Minnie back from Fred. 

“She looks good in Slytherin colors, don’t you think?” you asked, admiring her wrapped in your scarf. You looked at the scarves the twins were wearing. “Much better than that ugly red.” You laughed and dodged out of the way as Fred tried to hit you on the arm. 

You stepped out of the alley and suddenly felt the wind harshly on your face. Your hair whipped around; you could see that the red had already faded from it. You shivered and pulled Minnie as close to you as you could, pushing your face down into your jacket. Suddenly, there was a flash of red in front of your eyes, and you turned to see George wrapping his scarf around your neck as you walked. You wanted to object, but you felt warm and fuzzy, and you didn’t want that feeling to leave you. 

“You look pretty cute in that ugly red,” George whispered as he pulled away from you. 

Knowing your cheeks were now burning the same color as the scarf, you buried your face into it, hoping to conceal the blush. You chose to ignore him, instead looking down at Minnie, who was basically asleep in your arms. You took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the Gryffindor scarf you now wore. This was honestly the happiest you had ever felt in your life. 

George fell behind you to walk in step with his brother. “I told you I could flirt back.” 

Fred grinned at his twin. “Well done, George. Well done.”


	4. Quidditch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year 4. Quidditch shenanigans and a cute little moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so MintoKitsune is actually writing a companion fic to this! It's Fred x hufflepuff reader, and you'll catch some references to that character/fic in some of my chapters. You can read that at https://archiveofourown.org/works/29164077/chapters/71599482

The start of the Quidditch season was one of your favorite times of the year. It was a good way to get your mind off school work for a few hours a night while you practiced with the rest of the Slytherin team. The captain, Marcus Flint, had a strict regimen when it came to training, and the new brooms that the Malfoys had bought helped a lot. 

A match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was the first match of this year’s season. For you, it was more of a contest between you and the twins over who could make the other team more irritated. It was really quite easy to make Oliver Wood mad over a game of quidditch. All you needed to do was make sure Gryffindor lost. You could let Draco and Harry do whatever they wanted, as it was best to go after the core of the Gryffindor quidditch team; their star beaters. 

Looking around the pitch, you could see Fred sending a bludger towards Flint. Not caring much for your team captain, you chose not to warn him as the ball hit him right on the shoulder. It pushed Flint back, sending him spiraling in circles towards the ground, but he managed to catch himself. 

You let out a laugh and shouted over to Fred, “Nice one, Weasley!” 

Fred gave a thumbs up and a small wink as he turned to aim his next bludger at another one of your Slytherin teammates.

Suddenly there was a sharp pain in your left side as Marcus Flint smashed full force into you. “Stop playing for the other team and do your job! If I see you even smile at one of the Weasleys the rest of this match, you’re off the team.”

“Yeah, sure. You know there’s no one else in Slytherin who could be a better beater than me.” You rolled your eyes and took off on your broom, shouting over your shoulder at Flint, “Watch this!” 

You headed straight for George, his attention elsewhere, so he had no idea that you were coming. You gained as much speed as you felt comfortable with and aimed your broom right for him. Pushing your feet up, you balanced carefully on the black handle of your broomstick. You released your hands from the handle and stood up straight, wind pushing past you. The wind felt wonderful as you leaned into it, still staring directly at George, who had yet to turn his head to notice you. As you got closer and closer, you knew your plan would work out perfectly. 

“Weasley!” you called out when you were barely a few feet away from him. You kicked your feet off your broom, sending it in a small arc just below his broom as your body slammed right into his. 

George let out a small groan at the impact, and you heard him mumble a few choice words at you. 

You wrapped one arm around him as you felt both George and yourself start to fall towards the ground. Your other arm reached into the air, and your hand fell perfectly back onto your broomstick handle. As you dangled from your broom, you looked down at George, who was dangling from your hand. 

“How’s it hanging, Georgie?” you shouted down at him over the sound of the wind rushing by.

“This is such a cheap trick!” he shouted back up at you. 

“My favorite kind of trick,” you retorted back. 

You made it to the other side of the quidditch pitch, still hanging from your broom before you started to get close enough to the ground to let go of him. You looked back over your shoulder to the far end of the pitch, George’s broom laying sadly on the ground. Lowering your speed a bit, you dragged George’s shoes just slightly on the grass. 

“You better start running, or it’s gonna hurt like hell when I let go!” you warned him. 

George glared at you with a look that’s reserved only for when he’s truly pissed off at you, but he started running nevertheless. He stumbled a little bit when you let go of his hand, but managed to catch himself. You could hear him cursing you as you flew off, but you chose to ignore whatever he might be threatening you with. 

“Have a fun walk back to your broom, George.”   
\-----------------  
You could hear your name being called from behind you, but you ignored the two people yelling at you. You chose instead to focus your attention on your feet, trying hard not to trip over the rocks on the hill you were currently walking up. Annoyingly, you could hear the voices getting louder as the twins approached. 

“Hey, will you slow down!” George called, slightly out of breath from basically running up the hill to catch up with you. You shook your head, picking up your pace a little more. 

“You can’t be pissed at us every time Slytherin loses a game,” Fred said to you. 

You stopped walking suddenly, causing the twins to jolt to a stop too. You whipped around, your quidditch robes flowing behind you, and pointed your finger between the two of them. 

“I am not mad because Slytherin lost,” you said, your voice laced with a hint of venom. “I’m mad because you two almost killed a 12 year old boy and, in the process, almost killed me, too!” 

“It’s not like we tried to kill you,” George said, “and we’ve already said we’re sorry.” 

“Plus it was just Malfoy,” Fred continued. “And what about that bludger one of you bewitched!”

“I don’t care that it was ‘just Malfoy.’ He may be an annoying little prat, but he’s still a child. And that bludger was not us! I’m just as confused about that as you are.” Your arms were crossed in front of you now, and you stared down at them with irritation etched on your face. Having this conversation on a hill was probably a good idea, because it made you taller than the Weasley twins, and you felt like that gave you a slight advantage. You were sure they didn’t quite believe that Slytherin didn’t bewitch that bludger, but they knew you were telling your truth. 

“You literally ran full force into me and knocked me off my broom,” George recalled. 

“I caught you!” you said to him, rolling your eyes. “There are way worse tricks I could’ve pulled on you in the moment.”

“It was pretty wicked to watch,” Fred said, nudging his brother in the ribs. 

“Thank you, Fred.” You gave him a smile and turned back to George. “Flint was up my ass about being friends with you two, so I needed to do something that would get him to shut up.” 

“You could’ve picked the other twin to piss off,” George said in a slight mumble, crossing his arms. 

You walked the few steps to stand in front of him, about even with his height now thanks to the hill. 

“Maybe I just think you’re cute when you’re mad,” you said, patting his cheek. You gave him a wink and turned on your heel to head back up the hill again. Both Fred and George stayed rooted in the same spot. 

“Freddie,” George said to his brother once you were out of ear shot. He watched your green quidditch robes flowing behind you, your figure getting smaller and smaller as you approached the castle. “I think I’m in love.” 

Fred let out a sharp laugh, startling his brother out of his trance. “I know, George. I know.” Fred started to walk up the hill after you, leaving his brother dumbfounded in his spot.

George could feel the red on the tips of his ears and cheeks. It had been there since you softly touched his face, and he hoped to Merlin that you hadn’t noticed. Truth be told, you had noticed, but you thought it just made him that much more endearing.   
\----------------------  
You were sitting in the Slytherin common room, reading a book you had just picked up from the library, when you felt something brush against your leg. You looked down to see Minnie standing in front of you. She appeared to have a piece of paper stuck in her collar. 

Molly Weasley had knitted a small collar for Minnie the first Christmas you had her, just a couple weeks after you and the twins had found her. Fred and George had told their mother about the cat they were now sharing with you, and they asked Molly if she could make them a collar. They said it was their way of providing some sort of care for her, as you were the one that actually looked after her. It was a simple collar, made out of yarn, that you simply tied around her neck. It was more of a friendship bracelet than a collar, you always thought, but you loved it nonetheless. Especially because Molly had made it in your house colors. 

You bent down to retrieve the piece of paper from her, giving her a light scratch between the ears in the process. The paper was folded relatively neatly, your name written on it in messy writing. It was no doubt from one of the twins, or both. You unfolded it.

"Did I ever truly apologize for this afternoon? I can’t remember, it was all such a mess. Well, I am truly sorry for almost killing you. Meet me just outside the Slytherin common room at sunset. Wear something warm." --George xx

Folding the paper back up, you let out a short breath and rolled your eyes. George could have any number of possible activities planned for tonight, you just hoped that none of them put you in danger. You put the note in your book to act as a bookmark. Grabbing Minnie, you headed to your dorm to get ready for whatever it was that George had planned for this evening. 

Just a few short hours later you were standing just outside your common room, wearing the comfiest sweater you could find and a scarf was wrapped around your neck. A small bag hung from your shoulder. You could hear footfalls approaching from around the corner, and you hoped it was George, rather than a teacher who would scold you for being out this close to dark. The figure came around the corner, and you let out a sigh when you saw the red hair sticking out from under his knitted hat. 

“George,” you said, catching his attention, “what’re we doing? You’re gonna get us in trouble.”

“Only if we get caught,” he said, taking your hand. He didn’t even bother to stop walking, he just pulled you along after him. “No time to stop and chat. Snape was nearby last time I looked at the map.” 

You followed close behind him, your right hand in his left. It had been almost a year since the accident with the hair dye, but you sometimes still worried about his burn. Sometimes you swore you could see a faint scar if his wrist hit the light just right. Tonight, though, you had no worries about that, too worried about the thought of being caught by a teacher. Another irrational fear, as George had told you that him and his brother had never been caught out of bed since they found this map. 

You followed George, having no earthly clue where you were going. He seemed quite confident in his ability to find his way around the castle, though. A slight breeze hit you as he opened one final door, and the faint light of the setting sun illuminated both of your faces. 

“Where on earth are we going, George?” you asked, praying for a real answer this time. 

“Somewhere fun,” was all he said as he grabbed your hand again and pulled you out the door. 

You had made it all the way to the quidditch pitch before George finally stopped walking and let go of your hand. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon now, and it would be fully set in a matter of seconds. You could see both of your brooms leaning up against the wall.

“A late night joy ride?” you asked, motioning towards the brooms. 

“Something like that, yeah,” you answered you. He then pulled a small rectangular object out of his jacket pocket. “First, I wanted to give this back to you. There are a few pictures left on it. I didn’t wanna fill it up before you can go home to get them developed.”

You took the camera from him. You looked it over quickly and saw that there were still 10 pictures left on it. “Thanks George, but I can always ask my mum to owl me another one.”

You went to hand it back to him, but he denied it. “I’d like to see some pictures from your point of view too.”

You shrugged and placed the camera in your bag, taking out the gloves you had stored in there. You put them on and looked at George. “So, a late night joy ride?” 

He looked between you and your brooms. “Race you to the top!” he called as he took off in a sprint. 

“George,” you yelled after him as you started running too, “you know I’m faster on a broom than you are.” 

“That’s why I got a head start,” he informed you, hopping on his broom. You watched him take off, heading back towards the castle. 

Race you to the top, you thought to yourself. The top of the tallest tower in Hogwarts. You grabbed your broom, the black handle reflecting the light of the moon, which now shone brightly above you. You kicked off the ground as hard as you could, hoping the speed of your broom would make up for George’s head start. 

George Weasley would be the death of you someday, but, to be totally honest, you didn’t really mind. You waited with pleasant expectations for that day to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a shorter chapter, but I promise I make up for it in the next one! chapter 5 is like 3x as long as this one.   
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	5. Fears and Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Year 5. You come face to face with your worst fear in boggart form. Christmas at the Weasleys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda a heavy chapter, emotions wise, for reader, but it gets a lot lighter at the end.
> 
> just a reminder about the companion fred x hufflepuff fic that MintoKitsune is writing: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29164077/chapters/71599482

Somehow this year gave Hogwarts the most competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher the school had seen in a long time. A practical lesson on the first day of classes almost never happened, and you were more than excited to pack your books up and head out of the classroom.

“Where do you think we’re going?” you whispered to George as you walked behind Professor Lupin. 

“Hopefully somewhere I never have to open a textbook again,” he replied. 

The staffroom was the last place you expected to end up. You had been in this room plenty of times before, usually after getting caught doing a rather nasty prank. For a brief moment you were worried that you were somehow all in trouble, but the empty room told you otherwise. The wardrobe at the end of the room shook as Professor Lupin got close to it. 

“Now, class,” he said, catching everyone’s attention, “There is a boggart in this wardrobe. We will be using today’s lesson to learn how to defend oneself against it.” 

He launched into a spiel about boggarts and how to ward one off. The charm to repel it was rather simple; all you had to do was turn it into something ridiculous, but your worst fear was far from simple, and Lupin wanted everyone in the class to give it a try. The closer and closer the boggart got to you, the more you found yourself having a hard time breathing. 

Adrian Pucey cast the charm at the boggart, and the broken Nimbus 2001 broomstick in front of him transformed into a pile of dancing sticks. The sticks turned and danced their way in front of Fred, the whole class laughing as it went along. 

There was a loud cracking noise, and the boggart swirled in the air for a second, thinking about what it was going to turn into. The red headed boy’s laughter stopped immediately when the creature decided on a form. The rest of the class quickly quieted down as they took in the sight before them. 

Laying in front of Fred was a boy who looked exactly like him, covered in blood. You were sure that only a few people in the class could tell that Fred’s fear was his brother dying, and not his own death. You looked over at Lee, the twin’s best friend, who was switching his eyes between George and the body on the ground. You could feel the tears starting to creep into your eyes. 

George took a step towards his brother and put a shaky hand on Fred’s shoulder. “You okay, Freddie?” 

Fred finally tore his eyes away from the form in front of him to look at his real brother. Realization finally hit him that George was okay. He smiled at George and whispered softly, “Yeah.” 

The boggart suddenly cracked again and swirled before laying back on the ground as, again, a red headed boy covered in blood. This boy had a ghost of a laugh etched on his face, his features slightly sharper than the previous one. You could hear murmurs from the class behind you, wondering if the boggart had even changed. You knew, though, that it had switched its attention from Fred to George. Neither twin could stand the thought of living without the other. 

“Me too,” George said, but his breath caught in his throat, giving away his fear. 

Fred quickly raised his wand, sensing his brother’s feelings. “Riddikulus!” he shouted. 

The body in front of him swirled into another red head, but this time the whole class let out a loud roar of laughter. Percy Weasley stood in front of them, his shiny head boy pin four times the size it actually was and sporting the words “big headed boy.” Looking from the pin to Percy’s face, you could tell that his actual head was also enlarged. The boggart was having a hard time balancing its oversized head on its body. 

“Nice one, Fred,” George applauded, giving his brother a high five. They were both laughing harder than anyone else in the room. The image of the twin’s bodies lying motionless on ground was replaced with this beautiful image of them having the time of their lives. 

The Percy boggart finally lost its balance as it fell to the ground in front of you. It gave another loud crack and swirled in the air before it turned into a man staggering to get to his feet. You recognized him before he even looked up at you. 

His face was bloody and his clothes were torn and dirty. He looked at you with fear in his eyes. The familiar voice cracked and broke as he spoke, like he was trying not to cry.

“Run,” your father said as he got to his feet in front of you. “They’ve killed your mother. They’ll be after the two of us next.” 

You were frozen in your spot, your shoes seemingly glued to the floor as you looked at the image of your father. Tears were forming in your eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. You couldn’t bring yourself to raise your wand, not that it would have any effect, as the charm to fight it off had completely left your brain. 

You pulled your eyes away from the ragged man in front of you and found Professor Lupin standing next to the wardrobe. They suddenly shared a striking resemblance; your father now sharing similar wounds on his face, and both of their clothes were ripped and dirty.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” you said through a choked sob. You willed your feet to move backwards towards the door. “I can’t do this.” 

Turning to leave, you caught a glimpse of George out of the corner of your eye. His face looked more stunned than when he had seen his brother lying dead on the floor. He took a step forward, but Fred reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. You saw George turn to argue with his brother but didn’t hear what he said as you stepped out the door and ran down the hallway. 

Your tears blurred your vision as you ran down the corridors, not bothering to think about exactly where you were going. You passed classrooms where you could hear teachers lecturing or students idly chatting. Every voice you heard just made you wish more and more that you were alone. 

You found yourself searching your foggy brain for the phrase the twins had told you that morning. The Fat Lady would recognize you, but she wouldn’t let you in if you couldn’t remember the password. Gryffindor Tower felt like the only place you could truly be alone at this moment, as your own housemates would only make fun of the tears on your face. 

Climbing the staircase, along with the tears and the running, made it difficult to breathe. Your chest hurt as you caught sight of the portrait. She started to speak, but you interrupted her before she could get more than a word out. 

“Fortuna Major,” you said with a ragged breath, not bothering to stop to talk. 

The Fat Lady swung open. You could hear her complaining about your manners, but you didn’t have the patience to actually listen to what she was saying. 

There were a few students in the common room. They looked up when you entered, and you could tell a few of the younger ones were confused as to why a student in Slytherin robes was in their common room. 

You ignored their questioning gazes and headed straight for the staircase that led to the boys’ dormitories. The fifth year boys’ dorm would be completely empty, as they were all in the class you just stormed out of. 

You swung open the door and quickly scanned over the room. The red and gold colors of this dorm room always seemed to bring a warmer feeling than your own. The green and black color of your own four-poster bed, while familiar and comfortable, always seemed a little colder. 

George’s bed was the furthest to the right. The curtains were thrown open, probably in his rush to get ready that morning. A muted-colored handmade quilt lay haphazardly across the mattress, his comforter left a mess on the floor. Fred’s four-poster was in a similar state of disarray. 

You let out the smallest of laughs at their disorganization as you walked over to George’s bed. Picking up the comforter and laying it on the end of his bed, you crawled onto the mattress, kicking off your shoes as you did so. You pulled the curtain closed on one side of the bed to block out the mess of the dorm. Picking up the quilt, you quietly examined the patterns Molly had put on it. 

Your tears seemed to have stopped for the time being, the calmness of the room settling your emotions. You wiped your face dry with the sleeve of your robe as you thought about how your housemates would react to the news of your running out of class crying. They were sure to make fun of you endlessly, and if any of them were smart enough to consider what the boggart had said, they would know something wasn’t right about your family. It was only a matter of time before they started asking you more questions. 

You wrapped the quilt around your shoulders, taking in the scent it gave off. You had yet to go to The Burrow, but it still smelled of home. It smelled of earth and wood and love. Most importantly, it smelled like George. 

You sighed contently into the blanket, staring out the large window next to the bed. The late morning sun was shining brightly over the school grounds. Hagrid’s hut could be seen in the distance, smoke rising out of its chimney. You finally felt at peace again.

Footsteps could be heard on the stairs, and you hoped that whoever it was would continue past to a different dorm room. To your dismay, the door swung open and you could hear the four boys talking amongst themselves. 

“I just hope she’s okay,” one of the boys said. It sounded like Lee. 

“She’s a Slytherin. She’ll be fine,” a second boy said. Kenneth.

“She still has feelings, you know,” one of the twin’s said. They were harder to tell apart by their voices, but by the proximity of the voice to the bed you were currently in it had to be George. 

Please don’t open the curtain, you thought to yourself. Just get something from your trunk and move on. 

Unfortunately luck was not on your side, as George grabbed the curtain. “We should go check on her soon.” He pulled the curtain back to find someone he didn’t expect sitting on his bed. The look of surprise and horror on his face as he recognized that it was you made you laugh. “Bloody hell!”

The rest of the boys turned from whatever they were doing to look towards you. It wasn’t the first time you had been in their dorm, but it was the first time you came here without asking first. 

“This is a nice surprise,” Fred said with a laugh, looking between his brother and you. 

“Shut up, Fred,” George said over his shoulder. He turned back to you and lowered his voice so that only you could hear. “Are you alright?” 

It was overwhelming, the emotions overtaking you. You couldn't understand how this simple act of kindness could make your eyes well up once more, but coming from George it meant everything. 

You pulled the quilt tighter around your shoulders and managed to shake your head no. 

George’s eyes shifted quickly around the features of your face, taking everything in in a matter of seconds. He could see the tears behind your eyes now. He looked back at his dormmates before turning quickly back to you. 

“Do you want to be left alone?” he asked and you nodded. He nodded back at you with a small smile. “We’ll be down in the common room then. Lunch starts in 30 minutes.” 

You turned your face away from him, trying hard to keep the tears from falling again. He turned back to the other boys, who were already heading towards the door. You don’t know why, but seeing George turn away from you made the want for him to stay so much greater. 

He was only a step away when you quickly scrambled to your knees to grab the same hand he hand burned almost two years ago. You fumbled a bit on the bed, just barely managing to grab on to the end of his fingers. He turned back to you, but you didn’t say anything. You were waiting for the other boys to leave the room so you didn’t draw their attention. 

The few seconds it took them to leave were agonizing. George’s eyes burned into you as you looked over his shoulder to make sure his friend’s left. You wanted to pull George into you, but you couldn’t do that with the grip you had on his hand. You wanted to cry into his shoulder, but what would he think of you after that?

“Stay,” you said just above a whisper. “Please.” 

“Okay.” He repositioned his hand so he was properly holding yours now. 

You took advantage of this and quickly pulled him into you. His knees hit the mattress and his arms wrapped around you. You brought your own arms around him and took in the scent of his robes. It smelled just like the quilt that you had wrapped around your shoulders. You let the tears run down your face without restriction now. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” he whispered into your ear. He pulled away a little to look you in the eye again. “Just because it was your worst fear doesn't mean it’ll come true.” 

“Thanks,” you said, wiping your face. 

You let go of him completely now and moved to sit with your back against the headboard. George followed suit and sat next to you. He picked up your hand and started rubbing circles on it. You sat in silence for a couple minutes, your head on his shoulder. 

“I’m more afraid of what’ll happen now,” you said suddenly. 

“What do you mean?” he asked, moving his head to look at you. 

You picked your head up off his shoulder. “I mean, any smart person could figure out that the boggart was my parents getting killed by You-Know-Who. I’ve spent four years dancing around the fact that my father is a squib and my mother is a muggle. I’m basically a Muggle-born Slytherin. Do you know how rare those are, George?”

He only shook his head in answer. 

“Completely nonexistent,” you said, pulling your hand away from him in frustration. 

“I’m sure there’s gotta be at least one,” George said. You knew he was trying to help you, but it wasn’t working. 

“I’ve done my research, George.” Your tone was a little harsher than you meant, and you could see George recoil a bit from it. You calmed yourself before speaking again. “I’m sorry. Look, I know the only reason my blood is allowed in Slytherin is because technically I’m a half-blood, but that’s not how You-Know-Who and his followers would see me. If they knew the daughter of a squib was allowed in their sacred house, they would send a whole squad of Death-Eaters after my family.”

“I didn’t know this was something you thought about so much,” George said. You could tell he wasn’t super comfortable with the conversation, but you were happy that he was staying to talk to you. 

“I think about it every day, George. I think about it every time I hear one of my housemates talk about their pure-blood parents.” You looked up at George. Your face was wet with tears again. “I have so many housemates who’s parents are known supporters of Him. I’m terrified every time I get asked about my family. Do you know how hard it is to lie about them?”

“I can only imagine,” George started, but you cut him off with a sour laugh. 

“No you can’t.” You could see the pain in his eyes at your bitterness, but he let you continue without interruption. You tried your best to lighten your tone. “You don’t have to hide who you are. You and Fred are unapologetically Weasleys. It’s what I love the most about you.” You paused for a second, thinking about if you wanted to tell him the next part. “You know in our second year when I put a snake in a girls bed?” 

“Yeah,” he said with a small laugh. 

“She broke my camera the next week,” you told him. You reached into your robe pocket and brought out the disposable camera that you carried with you. 

“You could’ve just asked your dad to send another one, though”

“That’s not the point,” you said, turning the camera over in your hands. “The one thing I allow myself to bring from the Muggle world, and she had to break it. If she was smarter she would’ve thought about why I had a Muggle invention and called me out. I was scared for the next month that she was going to say something to me about it.” 

“I’m so sorry,” George said, putting his hand over yours. You stared down at his hand. 

“It’s not your fault,” you told him. You raised the camera up, his hand dropping off yours. You quickly took a photo of him.

“What was that for?” he asked. He had learned over the past years that you would take pictures of anyone at any moment, but you almost always had a reason behind it. 

“I was told to take pictures of the sad moments too,” you said. “And your face right now is perfect.” 

“Thanks?” he said with an awkward laugh. 

You reached up and put a hand on his face. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but you ignored him. You took in the features of his face, just like he had done to you earlier. 

“Every freckle on your face tells the world who you are,” you said, your thumb softly rubbing his cheek. “You’re mischievous, funny, rebellious and loyal, willing to listen to a friend cry after holding everything in for four years. You’re beautiful, George. You’re sunshine in a person. And you never have to hide that from any one.” 

“Can I kiss you?” George asked suddenly. 

You pulled your hand away. “No,” you stated, now avoiding eye contact. 

George suddenly got very flustered, his cheeks turning a dark red. He put his hands up in a defensive motion. “I’m so sorry. I think I misread the situation. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m so sorry.” 

“You didn’t misread anything, Georgie,” you told him. You finally wiped the tears from your face as you looked back at him. “I just think that if you kiss me now, you’ll regret it later.” 

“I would never regret something like that,” he said and reached for your hand. You let him grab it. 

“It’s sweet that you think that,” you said, tracing the freckles on the back of his hand. ”If you still want to kiss me when I’m not at my lowest, I might just let you next time.” 

You started to finally get up from his bed. “We should go before we miss lunch. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna sit with Adrian. I figure I should at least tell him the basics of what happened. I trust him and I’m sure he’s wondering if I’m okay. You can tell Fred and Lee, I don’t mind.” 

“Okay,” George said. You could see that he was still disappointed with the way the conversation ended, but he trusted you and your promise for next time.  
\-------------------------------  
The first half of the school year passed by slowly after that. Conversations with George were awkward for a few weeks, and you tried to only spend time with him if someone else was in the room with you. It wasn’t that you thought _he _might do something stupid, but you knew that you wouldn’t be able to keep _yourself _from doing something stupid.____

____The dungeons turned even colder than usual as winter settled in around the castle, and you found yourself spending most of your time as far away from them as you could. Most of your time outside of class was spent in the Gryffindor common room. If Fred and George were busy, you knew you could hang out with their siblings, or Lee and Angelina. Percy was never happy that you were in another house’s common room, but he had stopped threatening to take house points away when he realized that you just didn’t care about them._ _ _ _

____It was the last day before winter break, a break that you had promised the Weasleys you would spend at their house, and you were enjoying one last Hogwarts meal._ _ _ _

____“Are you excited for Christmas?” Fred asked as he sat next to you at the dinner table. George sat down on the other side of you._ _ _ _

____“I’m excited to see Charlie again,” you said. “You said he’s coming home right?”_ _ _ _

____“We did,” Fred started._ _ _ _

____“But that’s not the point,” George finished. “It’s your first Christmas at The Burrow. And your first Christmas with us.”_ _ _ _

____“Mum’s been asking about you nonstop in every letter she’s sent,” Fred informed you._ _ _ _

____“But I’ve met your mum. She knows me,” you said._ _ _ _

____“Only briefly,” George said. “She’s a little hectic when it comes to Christmas gifts.”_ _ _ _

____“She doesn’t need to get me anything,” you said, feeling a little embarrassed now._ _ _ _

____“We told her that,” Fred told you, “and she threatened to send a howler if we didn’t tell her anything.”_ _ _ _

____You had to let out a laugh at that. “You should’ve let her send the howler.”_ _ _ _

____“We thought about it,” they both said. They seemed to reminisce for a second at the thought of getting a howler._ _ _ _

____“We have a Gryffindor party to get to,” Fred said suddenly, “but we’ll meet you tomorrow morning.”_ _ _ _

____Fred got up and started to walk out of the hall, but George stayed behind. He sat for a moment in silence before you finally spoke to him again._ _ _ _

____“Not going to the party?” you asked, focusing more of your attention on the food in front of you than on him._ _ _ _

____“I have a question--or a few--to ask you first,” he said._ _ _ _

____“Yes?”_ _ _ _

____“Has anyone said anything about what happened?” he asked._ _ _ _

____“I’m assuming you mean the boggart?” You turned to look at him finally._ _ _ _

____“Yeah.”_ _ _ _

____“Yes, they have,” you said and turned back to your food. “Malfoy got word of it and had his father investigate me. So naturally, now every Slytherin knows. They haven’t done anything too bad or I would’ve told you earlier. Just a few name callings and empty threats here and there.”_ _ _ _

____“I’ve noticed you’ve been spending less time with Adrian,” George stated._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, but I don’t blame him,” you said._ _ _ _

____“How could you not blame him? He’s one of your closest friends.”_ _ _ _

____You looked at him again, and he saw that your eyes were red now. “I’m not gonna blame him for not wanting to be hated like I am. Even just associating slightly with me has made our house mates harass him too. When I first told him, he was okay with it, and I believe he still is, but he has a pure-blood family and reputation too. He’ll come around eventually. Maybe. Hopefully.”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah, hopefully,” George said as he put a hand on your arm. “Why don’t you come to the party with us? Get your mind off things.”_ _ _ _

____“I’m good,” you told him, your thoughts now stuck on the second of September and that cruel boggart. Maybe it would be good to have a night to yourself. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”_ _ _ _

______“If you change your mind, you know the password,” George said as he got up, leaving you alone at the table once again.  
\---------------------  
Christmas at The Burrow was just how you imagined it; chaotic but pleasantly peaceful at the same time. It was something else to be surrounded by so many people in such a small space. It was hard to get time to yourself, but if you needed it you knew you had Ron’s room on the top floor that you could escape to since he stayed behind at Hogwarts with Harry and Hermione. _ _

____The Chudley Cannons posters made the room a vibrant orange, and it hurt your eyes if you stared at it for too long. Minnie’s orange fur blended into the blanket on the bed. The ghoul in the attic above the room was a little loud, but it was nothing compared to the sounds the other people in the house made constantly. You were enjoying the view of the garden from the window when you heard a soft knock on the door._ _ _ _

____Walking over quickly, you opened the door to find George. He was wearing his pajamas and seemed to be trying to conceal something behind his back._ _ _ _

____“What’re you hiding?” you asked him._ _ _ _

____“Nothing harmful,” he said. The look you gave him told him you didn’t believe him. “I promise.”_ _ _ _

____He moved his hands so he was holding the object out to you now. It was the quilt he had on his bed at Hogwarts._ _ _ _

____“Merry Christmas,” he said._ _ _ _

____“It’s only Christmas Eve,” you reminded him, taking the quilt. You wrapped it around your shoulders, suddenly needing the warmth you knew it would bring you. “I thought I told you no presents?”_ _ _ _

____“It’s not from me,” he said. He took a step into the room. You let him pass. “I convinced mum not to give you anything besides that. And I already know I’m gonna be opening a brand new quilt tomorrow morning.”_ _ _ _

____“Thank you,” you told him. “It’ll bring warmth to my dorm room.”_ _ _ _

____“How is it under the lake?” George asked._ _ _ _

____“It’s beautiful,” you said, sitting on the end of the bed. “The giant squid spends a lot of time near the dorm room windows. I think it likes showing off to the students. Sometimes I wish I had a view of the grounds though. It’d be nice to know what the weather’s gonna be like before I leave the dungeons.”_ _ _ _

____George was staring out the window. “It’s starting to snow right now.”_ _ _ _

____“It is?” You got up to stand next to him by the window._ _ _ _

____The moonlight reflected brightly on the snow that already laid on the ground. The brand new flurries falling from the sky adding more softness to the land below you. The gnomes in the garden would surely be staying underground until the snow was gone. You rested your head on his shoulder, eyes closing contentedly. You took in the smell of him and the quilt, listening to the cold wind blow outside._ _ _ _

____George suddenly turned to you. “Grab your coat and boots. I’ll grab Charlie and Fred. Percy and Ginny too if I can get them to come.”_ _ _ _

____“What’re you planning?!” you shouted after him, but he was already rushing down the stairs. You quickly threw the blanket on the bed and grabbed your coat before heading downstairs._ _ _ _

____The twins and snow were never a good mix. Adding their entire family to the group would probably make it all the more hectic. As you walked down the stairs, Charlie came out of his room, coat in hand._ _ _ _

____“What’s the rush?” he asked._ _ _ _

____“I have literally no idea,” you told him. “He got a sudden idea and, like always, we’re all being sucked into it.”_ _ _ _

____Charlie elbowed you in the side lightly and bent down to whisper to you. “He’s just trying to cheer you up.”_ _ _ _

____“I don’t need cheering up,” you said as you stepped off the stairs and headed for the door._ _ _ _

____“The twins told me about the boggart,” he said. That made you stop walking and turn to face him. “They told me how you’ve been the last few months.”_ _ _ _

____“I’ve been fine,” you lied._ _ _ _

____“You basically lost a good friend because your whole house, the people who are supposed to be your family, are against who you are. I had my fair share of trouble with Slytherins. I know how most of them are.” Charlie stopped talking for a moment to look around the room. It looked like it was just the two of you in the small space. “I’m not good with human feelings, but George and Fred-- I can tell they care about you. George, he never shuts up about the jokes you plan with him. I think he likes your ideas more than Fred’s sometimes.”_ _ _ _

____“That’s absolutely not true,” you said with a laugh. “Fred’s a genius when it comes to that stuff. I just roll with their ideas. I haven’t come up with anything in weeks.”_ _ _ _

____“Maybe whatever George has planned out there”--he pointed to the door--“will help you get over your creative block. Now let’s go before they kill Percy. I think I hear his muffled screams.”_ _ _ _

____Charlie was almost to the door before you stopped him, having not moved from your spot. “Charlie..” He turned to look at you again. “George is--I think I--”_ _ _ _

____“Don’t tell me,” Charlie interrupted you. “Tell him. After this grand adventure to our front garden, of course.”_ _ _ _

____You nodded and smiled at him, finally walking towards the door._ _ _ _

____Opening the door, you were met with a view of something you should’ve expected, but didn’t think you’d ever see. Percy was screaming for help, but it seemed like no help would be given to him soon. Both Fred and George were throwing snowballs at him, fast enough that he didn’t have the time to recover and get his footing back. He slipped and fell just as Fred pelted a snowball right in his face, sending his glasses flying into the snow. The twins continued to throw snow at him. Ginny wasn’t any help either, as she was off to the side, not bothering to hide her laughter._ _ _ _

____You looked at Charlie and nodded at each other. You both scooped up some snow and, without warning, threw it as hard as you could at each of the twins._ _ _ _

____“Ow!” they both yelled and turned to look at you._ _ _ _

____“Look who finally made it,” Fred said, rubbing the back of his head. Charlie had really good aim._ _ _ _

____“We thought you flaked on us,” George continued._ _ _ _

____“I would never leave Percy out here alone with you three,” Charlie said as he eyed Ginny. She held up her hands like she had no part in it. “Don’t act like you’re innocent. You could’ve helped him.”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah, but it’s funnier to watch him fall in the snow,” Ginny said._ _ _ _

____You walked over to Percy and held out your hand to help him up. Charlie grabbed his glasses and handed them back to him._ _ _ _

____“Thanks,” Percy said to both of you. He tried his best to dry his glasses on his coat._ _ _ _

____“No problem, Perc,” Charlie said._ _ _ _

____“Now it’s time for a little payback,” you said, a grin forming on your face._ _ _ _

____“No thanks,” Percy objected. “I’m going back inside where it’s warm and dry.”_ _ _ _

____Charlie grabbed his arm. “It’s Christmas. Spend time with your family.”_ _ _ _

____Percy sighed in annoyance as he looked between you and his brother. “Fine. What’s the plan?”_ _ _ _

____“Oh there’s no plan,” you told him. “We just attack. Grab some snow and start throwing.”_ _ _ _

____The snowball fight was just what you needed. It got your mind off your worries and reminded you that you still had people you could turn to when you needed them. It even got Percy out of his stuck-up shell. He did accidentally beam Charlie in the back of the head once, but Charlie got even by shoving snow down Percy’s shirt a few minutes later. You were winding up to throw a clump of snow at Ginny when suddenly you were lying face up on the ground, a heavy weight on your chest._ _ _ _

____“This isn’t rugby,” you said, trying to catch your breath. Your head laid back in the snow as you stared up at the sky._ _ _ _

____“I don’t know what that is,” the person on top of you said. The weight on your chest lightened as George sat up._ _ _ _

____“It’s a muggle sport,” you told him. “I think you’d like it.”_ _ _ _

____“You should show it to me sometime.” George laid down in the snow next to you. “And that was payback for your fancy little trick you did last year in the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match.”_ _ _ _

____You let out a laugh. The look on George’s face when you tackled him off his broom would live in your mind forever._ _ _ _

____You could hear the other four Weasleys still fighting on the other side of the garden. You thought about getting up to help your team out, but you also thought about how nice it was to just lay on the ground next to George._ _ _ _

____“Does this count as fraternizing with the rival team?” you asked, turning your head to look at George. He was already looking at you._ _ _ _

____“I don’t think they’d mind,” he said. “They’re pretty evenly matched. Though I would say Charlie carries most of your team.” He was grinning at you now._ _ _ _

____You hit him in the arm lightly. “That was rude.”_ _ _ _

____“You’re the rude one for hitting me.”_ _ _ _

____The snow was still falling, landing on his face like white freckles against his own constellation of brown ones. It stuck to his hair, causing a nice contrast against the bright orange. You were staring into his eyes and he was staring back at you. Both of your breaths could be seen in the air, like a dragon trying its hardest to get it’s fire out. A fire that you could feel in your chest, warming you from the inside, letting you ignore the cold of the winter air around you._ _ _ _

____“George--” you started, but you were cut off by a cold object just barely missing your head, landing hard on your shoulder._ _ _ _

____You looked up to see Fred 10 feet away, getting ready to throw another snowball, this time at his brother. His aim was worse this time, and the snowball hit George in the leg._ _ _ _

____“Stop laying around!” Fred shouted. “We have a war going on!”_ _ _ _

____You started to get up to chase after him, smiling like an idiot, because you were honestly having a great time. You had just gotten to your knees when George grabbed your hand. He was sitting up now, and he pulled you next to him. You fell into him, placing your free hand on his chest for support._ _ _ _

____“What were you going to say?” he asked just above a whisper._ _ _ _

____“I uhh-” You weren’t quite sure what to say now, so caught off guard by the way he pulled you into him._ _ _ _

____You looked at George, fully looked at him for the first time since that day in his dorm room. His brown eyes were soft, staring at you with all his attention. You could feel his heartbeat under your hand on his chest. It was steadier than you expected it to be at this moment. His hand was warm on yours as he squeezed it harder than he probably thought he was. His face was wet from the snow, his hair sticking to his forehead. You reached up to brush some of it to the side. Your hand found its way down his face. He furrowed his eyebrows at you while you traced the freckles on his cheek with your finger._ _ _ _

____You let out a shaky breath as you thought about the last time you touched his face. “Just like last time. Right, George?”_ _ _ _

____He closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh. “Just like last time.”_ _ _ _

____“Ask me again.”_ _ _ _

____“What?” He opened his eyes again to look at you. You were smiling softly at him, your hand still resting on his cheek._ _ _ _

____“Ask me. I promise I’ve changed my answer this time.”_ _ _ _

____George started to smile. The most genuine smile you had ever seen on him. When he spoke, it was barely audible, just loud enough for only you to hear. “Can I kiss you?”_ _ _ _

____“Yes.”_ _ _ _

____As soon as the word left your mouth, his lips were on yours. The suddenness caused you to struggle to keep your balance against him, so he grabbed you tightly by the waist and pulled you closer. You kept one hand on his face, feeling the need to hold him next to you. The warmth of George being this close to you was enough to keep the fire in your chest burning forever. You both pulled away smiling and rested your foreheads against one another._ _ _ _

____“I think I love you, George,” you said, looking into his eyes for any reaction. All you saw was the light of the moon reflecting up from the snow._ _ _ _

____“I think I love you, too. You’re beautiful.” George moved so now his hand was resting on your face. You leaned into, radiating in the comfort of it._ _ _ _

____A sudden pain hit the side of your face, sending snow onto you and George. You both looked up to see Ginny, another snowball in hand, standing right where Fred was earlier._ _ _ _

____“Gross,” she said as she threw the other snowball at the two of you. It hit George in the shoulder._ _ _ _

____“We should go inside,” you said._ _ _ _

____You and George started to walk towards the front of the house, hand-in-hand. The other siblings, who had finished their fight, all looked at you. Fred and Charlie were grinning._ _ _ _

____“Shut up,” George said to them as you got closer._ _ _ _

____“I didn’t think it’d happen until after Christmas,” Fred said._ _ _ _

____Walking into the house, George let go of your hand to head off into the corner of the room with his twin. He came back a minute later with a smile on his face._ _ _ _

____“Get Minnie and come to my room,” he said in a whisper so that Percy and Ginny couldn’t hear from the kitchen. You gave him a look that told him you weren’t sure about where he was going with this. “Come on, please. Fred will sleep in Ron’s room. I wanna cuddle with my girlfriend and our cat.”_ _ _ _

____George left the room with Fred following close behind him up the stairs. You looked back at Charlie who had just come in the front door._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, I think that went well,” you said with a smile._ _ _ _

____Charlie let out a short laugh and smiled over at you. “I told you it would help.”_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an extra long chapter, and by the looks of it, chapter 6 will probably be just as long.  
> comments and kudos always appreciated :)


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